The Dark Side of Casino Bonuses: Hidden Rules to Watch Out For
Casino bonuses have reawakened gamblers’ motivation to sign up, deposit money, and play. The online shift gifted us with these offers. All serious casinos online offer bonuses like free spins, bonus cash, cashback, and so much more to their new and existing clients. A great example of a competitive casino reward can be a xon bet bonus, so be sure to check it out! The ever-rising competition in this realm makes it impossible for a site to survive without offering such incentives. However, they are costly, so casinos always try to set measures that manage their potential losses. Here is an overview of some of these rules.
What Are the Terms & Conditions?
The terms and conditions section usually states all the rules governing online casino promotions. However, most online users always confirm that they’ve read them even without opening the section. Casinos also have them in fine print that could be boring to read. Because of legal and transparency reasons, they include all the rules governing these offers, so do not be tempted to think they add them maliciously to steal your winnings.
Let us take a look at the ‘hidden’ rules that have a big impact on your winning chances. At a glance, the casinos always display the value of the bonuses and the wagering requirements. These requirements are expressed as a percentage like 30×. This states the number of times that you must wager the cash before cashing out. For instance, for a $100 bonus, you must wager $3000 before withdrawing your wins. If it is a free spins offer, you must spin and make cash, which will then be subjected to these requirements. You will easily know the wagering requirement from the bonus page. Let us delve into the terms that are always in the fine print!
1. Eligible Games
The terms usually state the games that you can play using the promo. Free spins bonuses are specifically notorious in this because they could limit you to only one game. You should always check the games to play. Most casinos restrict you from playing live casino games, selected table games, and jackpot games.
Also, the bonus could allow all games but they could contribute differently to the wagering requirements. You can find a table stating the percentage that each of the games contributes. Slots usually contribute 100% while other games like table games could contribute 50% or lower.
Failing to consider this condition can waste your time. You will put effort into playing them and realise that they are making little or no contribution to your wagering requirements progress. It is important to know the games that add the most value and play them more to increase your chances of cashing out.
2. Time Limits
Bonuses have expiries that may not be too clear if you don’t check. Most bonuses have a validity period of about one week. Hence, you should claim them when you have enough time to try to meet the wagering requirements. Also, the casino can set a time limit for claiming the bonus and making the minimum deposit. For instance, it could state that you must claim it within 24 hours of signing up. Failure to do so will make it obsolete.
3. Player Eligibility
Online casinos usually state that you must be eligible to access the casino to access the bonus. Hence, if you belong to any of the restricted countries in the terms and conditions, you should not try to claim it. Besides, the casino could state the eligible countries for a specific bonus. This limits it to its residents. Some countries have stringent rules against bonuses which could force casinos to put restrictions. Hence, players may sign up and play but they will not have access to the promos.
Casinos also state that you must be above the age limit to sign up and claim the bonuses. This is 18 years in most of them but could vary. Finally, casinos usually state that one user/account can only claim the bonus once. This condition becomes complex when dealing with different platforms with the same ownership. You will still claim it once and will not be eligible when trying to claim it in the next casino. This can be very disappointing for bonus hunters.
Finally, for deposit bonuses, the casino may only accept deposits made using certain payment methods. You may find a few restricted methods that make you ineligible.
4. Withdrawal Caps
When trying to meet the wagering requirements, you must remember that casinos have maximum cashable amounts for each of them. Do not waste your time continuing to play because it will not allow you to withdraw more. This can be very discouraging for some players but you should always be satisfied with what you get. Fortunately, most casinos have multiple bonuses so you can always hop to the next one and take maximum advantage of it.
5. Maximum Stake
The casinos also regulate how much you can stake per round using the offer. It could state the maximum stake or a percentage of the total bonus. For instance, it can state that the maximum wager per round should not be more than 10% of the total bonus. Unfortunately, this limit could be lower if you made the initial deposit using certain payment options like eWallets.
6. Bonus Abuse
Finally, the use of the bonus must be in line with its other terms and conditions, gambling policies, and other guidelines. Any attempt to cheat usually leads to the forfeiture of the bonus and might result in other consequences. They also illegalise strategies like card counting that may give you an advantage over other players. Because of these concerns, most casinos usually limit the bonus contributions of skill-based games like blackjack.
Also, casinos do not allow you to make a withdrawal attempt before meeting the playthrough requirements. This is another condition that is often ignored leading to the loss of the promo. If you withdraw your real money deposits, the bonuses and wins are also voided.
These are six bonus terms and conditions with a great impact on your chances of withdrawing your bonus winnings. However, they are usually hidden in the fine print and could result in the loss of these offers. You should always spare a few minutes to master them to take maximum advantage of the bonuses.